Mixing and delivery apparatus for mixtures of liquids, especially for the distribution of water and oil to textile fibres



Oct. 16, 1956 e. CALAMAI 2, MIXING AND DELIVERY APPARATUS FOR MIXTURES LIQUI DS, ESPECIALLY FOR THE DISTRIBUTION TER AND OIL TO TEXTILE FIBRES Filed Oct. 27, 1954 United States Patent ()fiice 2,766,912 Patented Oct. 16, 1956 IWIXIN G AND DELIVERY APPARATUS FOR MEX- TURES F LIQUIDS, ESPECIALLY FOR THE DIS- TRIBUIION OF WATER AND OIL T0 TEXTILE FIBRE Giosue Calamai, Greve, Florence, Italy Application October 27, 1954, Serial No. 465,054

Claims priority, application Italy November 14, 195B 4 Claims. (Cl. 222195) It is known that textile fibres, during the preparation for spinning, are clamped by mixtures of water and oil; this damping is generally effected on the fibres emerging out of the so-called beater or out of the so-called willow or other preparatory machines.

Oleins, castor oil and the sulphide treated oils (olive oil extracted by means of a sulphide) are usually used for these purposes; the sulphide oil is much used and is particularly suited in the cases wherein the oleous substance has to be distributed also on shoddy or mungo or on mixtures, such as mixture of wool and cotton and also on cotton.

If is important to make the distribution of the wateroil mixture uniform on the fibres and on the other hand it is economically appropriate that the quantity of oil consumed be held as low as possible, while a good anointment and a good homogeneous working of the fibres are obtained.

These oleous substances are provided mixed with Water and may be distributed manually or by suitable machines, always being stirred in order to avoid Stratification and to keep the mixture uniform. Machinery suited for these scopes has already been designed, but in general they are suitable only for use of substances which do not tend to solidify, that is to become soft while for the use of the mixtures of sulphide treated oil or other substances, which tend to become soft, manual distribution is often recurred to, owing to the extreme easiness by which the oleous substance mixed with water in the known machines tends to form a semi-solid soft mass, which cannot be further distributed.

The presently used machines provide the use of a suction and force pump, through which the oleous substance passes, or by use of air or other compressed gas, by which it is possible to obtain a dragging of the oleous mixture.

The apparatus, according to the invention, makes the delivery of sulphide treated oil or other oils, easily tending to become soft, possible without any trouble deriving from the emulsion and notwithstanding this by delivering a regularly proportionated mixture of oil and water.

The apparatus, according to the invention, substantially includes, in the water-oil mixture tank, means designed to provide a moderate gurgling or bubbling of air in the mixture mass, said gurgling stirring the mass sufficient ly, and preventing the formation of soft masses thereof, but also avoiding the separation and stratification of the two liquids.

This system of gas gurgling (air) in the mixture mass is practically actuated by injecting the gas, more especially from the bottom of the container, at an appropriate- 1y restricted differential pressurein relation to the pressure existing in the tankand the injected gas stream is quantitively adjusted in a suitable way.

The described arrangement also allows to prevent the use of complex mechanical stirrers which often lead to a solidification of the mass.

This arrangement also offers the advantage of easily making the container and tank of the mixture like a pressurized container, from which the delivery is effected by using the pressure existing in the container.

An apparatus according to the invention thus includes: a pressurized tank; a gas delivery apparatus designed to the gurgling, which is fed at a restrictedly higher pressure than the pressure existing in the container; an atomising means for the mixture, which uses the pressure existing in the container for the atomization of said mixture distributing it on the fibres.

It has been constated that the regular operation of the gurgling gas depends on the quantity and pressure of the gas delivered by each of the nozzles or orifices which lead into the low portion of the pressurized tank, and not upon the total number of the nozzles, at least within some large limits. Consequently, it is possible to increase or decrease the number of the nozzles within appropriate limits without any prejudice to the good operation of the mixer, that is, without any danger of a solidification of the mixture, provided the unitary amount of gas and the incoming pressure are constant and appropriately specified for each nozzle and provided the nozzles are suitably distributed and are sufficiently numerous for the tank cross-section. I,

An apparatus therefore may be formed by any appropriate number of nozzles within certain limits,; each nozzle being connected with an independent conduit which is fed by a source of constant pressurized gas through calibrated apertures which determine, together with the differential pressure, the amount and velocity of the gas fed to each nozzle.

The use as abovementioned, of a pressurized container or tank has the advantage of also determining the atomization of the liquid without directing violent jets of compressed air or other compressed gas, which drags the liquid, towards the mass of the fibres. The transit of the mixture is also avoided through suction and force pumps, wherein the solidification is frequently determined and which leads to operational failures.

The adoption of atomizing nozzles, such as those used in agriculture for the copper sulphate delivery, or similar nozzles, also of the adjustable type, may be provided for the atomization of the mixture.

The variation of capacity may be obtained either by varying the size of the nozzle holes or by varying the feed pressure of the liquid mixture, that is the pressure existing in the tank.

In said drawing:

Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate two embodiments of an apparatus with a pressurized tank;

Fig. 3 illustrates a gurgling nozzle.

In Fig. l, 1 denotes the pressurized container, foming the tank for the water -oil mixture; 2 denotes a feed hopper for the tank filling; 3 denotes a panel for the control of the liquid consumption, for example, by means of an appropriate graduation. 4 denotes a tank of compressed air, appropriately fed through a piping 5, for example, by a compressor 6. The tank 1 is pressurized through a conduit 7 and a pressure reducer 8; the pressure in the tank 1 is kept constant by means of a suitable relief valve 1a.

The compressed air is also led to a nozzle 11 almost centrally located in the bottom of the tank 1, through an adjusting cock 9 and a conduit or piping 10. Said nozzle 11 is provided with several apertures, through which a fractioned gaseous stream emerges, passing through the mass of the liquid, stirring it by gurgling. The gurgling is obtained by means of a light suitable differential pressure between the piping and the tank 1, and said pressure must be suflicient as to actuate the mixing of the mixture, which tends to get Stratified, but must be sufiiciently moderate as to avoid the mixture getting soft. This gurgling jet may be appropriately adjusted, according to the use and conditions, by means of the valve 9 and eventually the reducer 8.

The bottom of the tank 1 is preferably conically shaped in order to avoid dead angles, where the stirring action is not efiicient.

The mixture in the tank 1 is kept constantly uniform by this apparatus and thus may be drawn from a piping 12 coming out of the bottom of the tank 1 and at least leading to a nozzle 13, which provokes the mist jet of the mixture by eflect of the inner pressure of the tank 1; said nozzle 13 atomizes the liquid, the eventual emulsion of which occurs only after the atomization.

The apparatus may also be used for oil and other substances, which do not require the continuous stirring in the tank 1; in this case it is sufiicient to exclude the gurgling system formed by the members 91011, for example, through a cock or the like. The jet obtained by the nozzle 13 or by several jets in tandem may be directed towards the fibres to be anointed, the latter not being moved by the jet, since said jet is not violent and does not involve a flow of air.

A nozzle of this type may be located at the inlet or better at the outlet of one of the preparatory machines for the carding or combing, for example at the outlet of the so-called beater; the fibers coming out of the machine are therefore regularly and uniformly damped and anointed.

According to the diagram of Fig. 2, 16 denotes a compressor for air or any other gas, which feeds, through a conduit 17, a compressed air tank 18; the latter is provided with a calibrated discharge valve 19 which is capable of keeping a constant pressure in the tank 18.

A number of conduits 20 depart from the tank 18 and lead to an equal number of gurgling nozzles 21 arranged on the bottom or however in the low portion of the pressurized container 22 containing the liquids to be mixed and delivered; the conduits 20 are as numerous as the nozzles 21 and each of said conduits feeds its corresponding nozzle with a unitary amount of gas, which is determined by the pressure imposed to the casing 18 and by the calibrated aperture which is made in a suitable baffie inserted in correspondence of each conduit 20, for example, in the connection 23 between the tank 18 and the considered conduit 20 or in any other suitable position along the same conduit 20.

The tank 22 is provided with, in its top portion, a calibrated discharge valve 24 which is capable of keeping therein an appropriately lower pressure than in the tank 18. The tank 22 is furthermore provided with liquid feeding means, generically indicated by 25, with the liquid deliver conduit indicated by 2626a and provided with the spraying nozzle 26b or with several nozzles, with a suitable control peephole for the liquids level (not visible in the drawing) with eventual electrical or fluid heating means (also not visible in the drawing), with eventual relied valves or the like.

After the tank 22 has been loaded with the liquids to be mixed and delivered, the operation of the compressor and the gurgling is started through a certain number of nozzles 21. In accordance to the regimen, to which the nozzles are calibrated both for the capacity and pressure, and in accordance to the number of nozzles in operation, the required operational pressure is attained more 0.

less rapidly in the tank 18 and in the top portion of the tank 22; these pressures are attained firstly by the calibration of the valve 19 and then by the calibration of the valve 24, which assure the constance of the pressures by discharging the exceeding gas. The valves 19 and 24 are calibrated in such a way as to determine a diflerential pressure between the nozzles and the tank 22, for the gurgling of the gas and to attain a sufiicient pressure in the tank 22 for the delivery of the mixture of the liquids through the system 2626a26b.

It is appropriate to avoid the penetration of the liquid through the nozzles into the conduits 20, in order to obtain a regular operation of the nozzles 21; this may determine an obstruction if at least one of the liquids tends to get solidified. Consequently each of the nozzles 21 is provided with a suitable shutter which avoids the penetration of the liquid, but does not allow an irregular issue of the gurgling gas towards the casing 22.

Fig. 3 illustrates separately an embodiment of the nozzle provided with the shutter. It includes, in the diagrammatic illustration herein shown, a body 28 threaded onto a boss 22a in the wall of the tank 22; said body 28 is connected to a corresponding conduit 20 which feeds the gas to a conduit 29 formed in the same body 28; said conduit 29 leads into a substantially truncated cone chamber 30 opening towards the tank and whose walls act as a seat for a small ball 31 which forms the shutter of the nozzle. The small ball 31 is raised by the gas which arrives from the conduit 29 and emerges out of the apertures 32a of a lid 32 closing the chamber 30; on the contrary, the liquid cannot flow in reverse direction from the chamber 30 towards the conduit 29, when the nozzle is not fed, the small ball 31, in this case, lying in its own seat.

In certain cases and for different successive uses, there may be some provisions to use a different number of nozzles, with means, such as cocks 27, in order to exclude some of said nozzles.

It is intended that the drawing only shows an embodiment, given only as a practical demonstration of the invention, said invention being in condition as to be varied in the shape and arrangement without however departing from the ambit of the concept in forming said invention. An open tank, for example, may be provided, wherein the mixture is kept stirring by the slightly compressed air gurgling and from which the mixture is drawn as hereinbefore described, and eventually through the suction determined by a jet of pressurized air or through a pump or any other suitable way. The tank may include heating means. The air or other gas gurgling may be adducted through a piping arriving on the top or side thereof, and extending towards the bottom thereof.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for mixing and delivery of a liquid mass, comprising, in combination: a pressurized gas chamber, means for supplying compressed gas to said chamber, valve means communicating with said chamber to maintain the pressure therewithin at a predetermined constant value, a pressurized liquid tank, further valve means communicating with said tank to maintain the pressure therewithin at a value lower than that within said chamber, conduit means extending from said chamber to the bottom of said tank, and liquid discharge means connected with said tank adjacent the bottom thereof.

2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, including a pipe extending between said chamber and said tank for placing the latter under pressure, and reducing valve means in said pipe for reducing the pressure within said pipe so that the pressure within said tank is less than that within said chamber.

3. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said conduit means is provided with a conical recess having its base directed toward said tank, and further including a ball disposed within said conical recess, and a perforated lid dosing 0E said recess to thereby limit movement of said ball, whereby flow of compressed gas to said tank References Cited in the file of this patent from said chamber is efiected by raising of said ball, UNITED STATES PATENTS whereas liquid within said tank is prevented from flowing 646 523 D A 3 1900 toward said chamber through closing ofi of said conduit i 1,194,358 Cecil Aug. 15, 1916 means by and 1377 009 Dunn May 3 1921 4. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said 2,550,888 Tmughber May 1, 1951 conduit means includes a plurality of conduits independently extending between said chamber and said tank, and valve means for selectively closing otf said conduits. 

